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Should Women Be Required to Take Their Husband's Last Name When They Get Married?

When Alex and I get married in two weeks, I'm going to keep my last name. But apparently 50% of Americans say that it should be a legal requirement for a woman to take her spouse's last name!

My jaw dropped when I heard this...

A whopping 70% of the respondents in a new study feel that women should take their husbands' last name, and 50% say that it should be a legal requirement for a woman to take her spouse's last name. The Center for Survey Research at Indiana University presented these surprising findings this week, reports USA Today and the Daily News.

Why did these people feel this way? "They said that women should lose their own identity when they marry and become a part of the man and his family," said Laura Hamilton, a Indiana University associate professor and the author of the study. Other people said women should change their names because of religious reasons, or "they said the mailman would get confused" if women didn't change their names, says Hamilton.

What the what???

What do you guys think? Should women change their names when they get married? Should they be legally required to do so? Would you want to change your name when you get married? I'd love to hear your thoughts...